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Corpo
G.R. No. 129459 September 29, 1998
SAN JUAN STRUCTURAL AND STEEL FABRICATORS, INC., petitioner, vs.
COURT OF APPEALS, MOTORICH SALES CORPORATION, NENITA LEE
GRUENBERG, ACL DEVELOPMENT CORP. and JNM REALTY AND
DEVELOPMENT CORP., respondents.
PANGANIBAN, J.:
May corporate treasurer, by herself and without any authorization from he board
of directors, validly sell a parcel of land owned by the corporation?. May the veil
of corporate fiction be pierced on the mere ground that almost all of the shares
of stock of the corporation are owned by said treasurer and her husband?
The Case
These questions are answered in the negative by this Court in resolving the
Petition for Review on Certiorari before us, assailing the March 18, 1997
Decision 1 of the Court of Appeals 2 in CA GR CV No. 46801 which, in turn,
modified the July 18, 1994 Decision of the Regional Trial Court of Makati, Metro
Manila, Branch 63 3 in Civil Case No. 89-3511. The RTC dismissed both the
Complaint and the Counterclaim filed by the parties. On the other hand, the
Court of Appeals ruled:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the appealed decision is AFFIRMED
WITH MODIFICATION ordering defendant-appellee Nenita Lee Gruenberg
to REFUND or return to plaintiff-appellant the downpayment of
P100,000.00 which she received from plaintiff-appellant. There is no
pronouncement as to costs. 4
The petition also challenges the June 10, 1997 CA Resolution denying
reconsideration. 5
The Facts

requesting for a computation of the balance to be paid: that said letter was
coursed through defendant-appellee's broker. Linda Aduca, who wrote the
computation of the balance: that on March 2, 1989, plaintiff-appellant was ready
with the amount corresponding to the balance, covered by Metrobank Cashier's
Check No. 004223, payable to defendant-appellee Motorich Sales Corporation;
that plaintiff-appellant and defendant-appellee Motorich Sales Corporation were
supposed to meet in the office of plaintiff-appellant but defendant-appellee's
treasurer, Nenita Lee Gruenberg, did not appear; that defendant-appellee
Motorich Sales Corporation despite repeated demands and in utter disregard of
its commitments had refused to execute the Transfer of Rights/Deed of
Assignment which is necessary to transfer the certificate of title; that defendant
ACL Development Corp. is impleaded as a necessary party since Transfer
Certificate of Title No. (362909) 2876 is still in the name of said defendant; while
defendant JNM Realty & Development Corp. is likewise impleaded as a necessary
party in view of the fact that it is the transferor of right in favor of defendantappellee Motorich Sales Corporation: that on April 6, 1989, defendant ACL
Development Corporation and Motorich Sales Corporation entered into a Deed of
Absolute Sale whereby the former transferred to the latter the subject property;
that by reason of said transfer, the Registry of Deeds of Quezon City issued a
new title in the name of Motorich Sales Corporation, represented by defendantappellee Nenita Lee Gruenberg and Reynaldo L. Gruenberg, under Transfer
Certificate of Title No. 3571; that as a result of defendants-appellees Nenita Lee
Gruenberg and Motorich Sales Corporation's bad faith in refusing to execute a
formal Transfer of Rights/Deed of Assignment, plaintiff-appellant suffered moral
and nominal damages which may be assessed against defendants-appellees in
the sum of Five Hundred Thousand (500,000.00) Pesos; that as a result of
defendants-appellees Nenita Lee Gruenberg and Motorich Sales Corporation's
unjustified and unwarranted failure to execute the required Transfer of
Rights/Deed of Assignment or formal deed of sale in favor of plaintiff-appellant,
defendants-appellees should be assessed exemplary damages in the sum of One
Hundred Thousand (P100,000.00) Pesos; that by reason of defendants-appellees'
bad faith in refusing to execute a Transfer of Rights/Deed of Assignment in favor
of plaintiff-appellant, the latter lost the opportunity to construct a residential
building in the sum of One Hundred Thousand (P100,000.00) Pesos; and that as
a consequence of defendants-appellees Nenita Lee Gruenberg and Motorich
Sales Corporation's bad faith in refusing to execute a deed of sale in favor of
plaintiff-appellant, it has been constrained to obtain the services of counsel at an
agreed fee of One Hundred Thousand (P100,000.00) Pesos plus appearance fee
for every appearance in court hearings.

The facts as found by the Court of Appeals are as follows:

Plaintiff-appellant San Juan Structural and Steel Fabricators, Inc.'s amended
complaint alleged that on 14 February 1989, plaintiff-appellant entered into an
agreement with defendant-appellee Motorich Sales Corporation for the transfer
to it of a parcel of land identified as Lot 30, Block 1 of the Acropolis Greens
Subdivision located in the District of Murphy, Quezon City. Metro Manila,
containing an area of Four Hundred Fourteen (414) square meters, covered by
TCT No. (362909) 2876: that as stipulated in the Agreement of 14 February
1989, plaintiff-appellant paid the downpayment in the sum of One Hundred
Thousand (P100,000.00) Pesos, the balance to be paid on or before March 2,
1989; that on March 1, 1989. Mr. Andres T. Co, president of plaintiff-appellant
corporation, wrote a letter to defendant-appellee Motorich Sales Corporation

In its answer, defendants-appellees Motorich Sales Corporation and Nenita Lee

Gruenberg interposed as affirmative defense that the President and Chairman of
Motorich did not sign the agreement adverted to in par. 3 of the amended
complaint; that Mrs. Gruenberg's signature on the agreement (ref: par. 3 of
Amended Complaint) is inadequate to bind Motorich. The other signature, that of
Mr. Reynaldo Gruenberg, President and Chairman of Motorich, is required: that
plaintiff knew this from the very beginning as it was presented a copy of the
Transfer of Rights (Annex B of amended complaint) at the time the Agreement
(Annex B of amended complaint) was signed; that plaintiff-appellant itself
drafted the Agreement and insisted that Mrs. Gruenberg accept the P100,000.00
as earnest money; that granting, without admitting, the enforceability of the
agreement, plaintiff-appellant nonetheless failed to pay in legal tender within the
stipulated period (up to March 2, 1989); that it was the understanding between
1

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Corpo
Mrs. Gruenberg and plaintiff-appellant that the Transfer of Rights/Deed of
Assignment will be signed only upon receipt of cash payment; thus they agreed
that if the payment be in check, they will meet at a bank designated by plaintiffappellant where they will encash the check and sign the Transfer of Rights/Deed.
However, plaintiff-appellant informed Mrs. Gruenberg of the alleged availability
of the check, by phone, only after banking hours.
On the basis of the evidence, the court a quo rendered the judgment appealed
from[,] dismissing plaintiff-appellant's complaint, ruling that:
The issue to be resolved is: whether plaintiff had the right to compel
defendants to execute a deed of absolute sale in accordance with the
agreement of February 14, 1989: and if so, whether plaintiff is entitled
to damage.
As to the first question, there is no evidence to show that defendant
Nenita Lee Gruenberg was indeed authorized by defendant corporation.
Motorich Sales, to dispose of that property covered by T.C.T. No.
(362909) 2876. Since the property is clearly owned by the corporation.
Motorich Sales, then its disposition should be governed by the
requirement laid down in Sec. 40. of the Corporation Code of the
Philippines, to wit:
Sec. 40, Sale or other disposition of assets. Subject to the
provisions of existing laws on illegal combination and
monopolies, a corporation may by a majority vote of its board
of directors . . . sell, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge or
otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of its property and
assets including its goodwill . . . when authorized by the vote
of the stockholders representing at least two third (2/3) of the
outstanding capital stock . . .
No such vote was obtained by defendant Nenita Lee Gruenberg for that
proposed sale[;] neither was there evidence to show that the supposed
transaction was ratified by the corporation. Plaintiff should have been
on the look out under these circumstances. More so, plaintiff himself
[owns] several corporations (tsn dated August 16, 1993, p. 3) which
makes him knowledgeable on corporation matters.
Regarding the question of damages, the Court likewise, does not find
substantial evidence to hold defendant Nenita Lee Gruenberg liable
considering that she did not in anyway misrepresent herself to be
authorized by the corporation to sell the property to plaintiff (tsn dated
September 27, 1991, p. 8).
In the light of the foregoing, the Court hereby renders judgment
DISMISSING the complaint at instance for lack of merit.

"Defendants" counterclaim is also DISMISSED for lack of basis.

(Decision, pp. 7-8; Rollo, pp. 34-35)
For clarity, the Agreement dated February 14, 1989 is reproduced hereunder:
AGREEMENT
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS:
This Agreement, made and entered into by and between:
MOTORICH SALES CORPORATION, a corporation duly organized and existing
under and by virtue of Philippine Laws, with principal office address at 5510
South Super Hi-way cor. Balderama St., Pio del Pilar. Makati, Metro Manila,
represented herein by its Treasurer, NENITA LEE GRUENBERG, hereinafter
referred to as the TRANSFEROR;
and
SAN JUAN STRUCTURAL & STEEL FABRICATORS, a corporation duly organized and
existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Philippines, with principal office
address at Sumulong Highway, Barrio Mambungan, Antipolo, Rizal, represented
herein by its President, ANDRES T. CO, hereinafter referred to as the
TRANSFEREE.
WITNESSETH, That:
WHEREAS, the TRANSFEROR is the owner of a parcel of land identified as Lot 30
Block 1 of the ACROPOLIS GREENS SUBDIVISION located at the District of
Murphy, Quezon City, Metro Manila, containing an area of FOUR HUNDRED
FOURTEEN (414) SQUARE METERS, covered by a TRANSFER OF RIGHTS between
JNM Realty & Dev. Corp. as the Transferor and Motorich Sales Corp. as the
Transferee;
NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the foregoing premises, the
parties have agreed as follows:
1.

That the purchase price shall be at FIVE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED

PESOS (P5,200.00) per square meter; subject to the following terms:
a.

Earnest money amounting to ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND

PESOS (P100,000.00), will be paid upon the execution of this
agreement and shall form part of the total purchase price;

b.

Balance shall be payable on or before March 2, 1989;

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2.

That the monthly amortization for the month of February 1989 shall be
for the account of the Transferor; and that the monthly amortization
starting March 21, 1989 shall be for the account of the Transferee;

The transferor warrants that he [sic] is the lawful owner of the above-described
property and that there [are] no existing liens and/or encumbrances of
whatsoever nature;

II.

Whether or not the appellate court may consider matters which the
parties failed to raise in the lower court

III.

Whether or not there is a valid and enforceable contract between

the petitioner and the respondent corporation

IV.

Whether or not the Court of Appeals erred in holding that there is a

valid correction/substitution of answer in the transcript of
stenographic note[s].

V.

Whether or not respondents are liable for damages and attorney's

fees 9

In case of failure by the Transferee to pay the balance on the date specified on 1,
(b), the earnest money shall be forfeited in favor of the Transferor.
That upon full payment of the balance, the TRANSFEROR agrees to execute a
TRANSFER OF RIGHTS/DEED OF ASSIGNMENT in favor of the TRANSFEREE.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have hereunto set their hands this 14th day
of February, 1989 at Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines.

The Court synthesized the foregoing and will thus discuss them seriatim as
follows:
1.

Was there a valid contract of sale between petitioner and Motorich?

2.

May the doctrine of piercing the veil of corporate fiction be applied to

Motorich?

3.

Is the alleged alteration of Gruenberg's testimony as recorded in the

transcript of stenographic notes material to the disposition of this case?

4.

Are respondents liable for damages and attorney's fees?

MOTORICH SALES CORPORATION SAN JUAN STRUCTURAL & STEEL FABRICATORS

TRANSFEROR TRANSFEREE
By. NENITA LEE GRUENBERG By: ANDRES T. CO
Treasurer President
In its recourse before the Court of Appeals, petitioner insisted:
1.

Appellant is entitled to compel the appellees to execute a Deed of

Absolute Sale in accordance with the Agreement of February 14,
1989,

The Court's Ruling

The petition is devoid of merit.
First Issue: Validity of Agreement

2.

Plaintiff is entitled to damages.

As stated earlier, the Court of Appeals debunked petitioner's arguments and

affirmed the Decision of the RTC with the modification that Respondent Nenita
Lee Gruenberg was ordered to refund P100,000 to petitioner, the amount
remitted as "downpayment" or "earnest money." Hence, this petition before us. 8
The Issues
Before this Court, petitioner raises the following issues:
I.

Whether or not the doctrine of piercing the veil of corporate fiction

is applicable in the instant case

Petitioner San Juan Structural and Steel Fabricators, Inc. alleges that on February
14, 1989, it entered through its president, Andres Co, into the disputed
Agreement with Respondent Motorich Sales Corporation, which was in turn
allegedly represented by its treasurer, Nenita Lee Gruenberg. Petitioner insists
that "[w]hen Gruenberg and Co affixed their signatures on the contract they both
consented to be bound by the terms thereof." Ergo, petitioner contends that the
contract is binding on the two corporations. We do not agree.
True, Gruenberg and Co signed on February 14, 1989, the Agreement, according
to which a lot owned by Motorich Sales Corporation was purportedly sold. Such
contract, however, cannot bind Motorich, because it never authorized or ratified
such sale.

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A corporation is a juridical person separate and distinct from its stockholders or
members. Accordingly, the property of the corporation is not the property of its
stockholders or members and may not be sold by the stockholders or members
without
express
authorization
from
the
corporation's
board
of
directors. 10 Section 23 of BP 68, otherwise known as the Corporation Code of the
Philippines, provides;
Sec. 23. The Board of Directors or Trustees. Unless otherwise
provided in this Code, the corporate powers of all corporations formed
under this Code shall be exercised, all business conducted and all
property of such corporations controlled and held by the board of
directors or trustees to be elected from among the holders of stocks, or
where there is no stock, from among the members of the corporation,
who shall hold office for one (1) year and until their successors are
elected and qualified.
Indubitably, a corporation may act only through its board of directors or, when
authorized either by its bylaws or by its board resolution, through its officers or
agents in the normal course of business. The general principles of agency govern
the relation between the corporation and its officers or agents, subject to the
articles of incorporation, bylaws, or relevant provisions of law. 11 Thus, this Court
has held that "a corporate officer or agent may represent and bind the
corporation in transactions with third persons to the extent that the authority to
do so has been conferred upon him, and this includes powers which have been
intentionally conferred, and also such powers as, in the usual course of the
particular business, are incidental to, or may be implied from, the powers
intentionally conferred, powers added by custom and usage, as usually
pertaining to the particular officer or agent, and such apparent powers as the
corporation has caused persons dealing with the officer or agent to believe that
it has conferred." 12
Furthermore, the Court has also recognized the rule that "persons dealing with
an assumed agent, whether the assumed agency be a general or special one
bound at their peril, if they would hold the principal liable, to ascertain not only
the fact of agency but also the nature and extent of authority, and in case either
is controverted, the burden of proof is upon them to establish it (Harry Keeler v.
Rodriguez, 4 Phil. 19)." 13 Unless duly authorized, a treasurer, whose powers are
limited, cannot bind the corporation in a sale of its assets. 14
In the case at bar, Respondent Motorich categorically denies that it ever
authorized Nenita Gruenberg, its treasurer, to sell the subject parcel of
land. 15 Consequently, petitioner had the burden of proving that Nenita
Gruenberg was in fact authorized to represent and bind Motorich in the
transaction. Petitioner failed to discharge this burden. Its offer of evidence before
the trial court contained no proof of such authority. 16 It has not shown any
provision of said respondent's articles of incorporation, bylaws or board
resolution to prove that Nenita Gruenberg possessed such power.
That Nenita Gruenberg is the treasurer of Motorich does not free petitioner from
the responsibility of ascertaining the extent of her authority to represent the
corporation. Petitioner cannot assume that she, by virtue of her position, was

authorized to sell the property of the corporation. Selling is obviously foreign to a

corporate treasurer's function, which generally has been described as "to receive
and keep the funds of the corporation, and to disburse them in accordance with
the authority given him by the board or the properly authorized officers." 17
Neither was such real estate sale shown to be a normal business activity of
Motorich. The primary purpose of Motorich is marketing, distribution, export and
import in relation to a general merchandising business. 18 Unmistakably, its
treasurer is not cloaked with actual or apparent authority to buy or sell real
property, an activity which falls way beyond the scope of her general authority.
Art. 1874 and 1878 of the Civil Code of the Philippines provides:
Art. 1874. When a sale of a piece of land or any interest therein is
through an agent, the authority of the latter shall be in writing:
otherwise, the sale shall be void.
Art. 1878. Special powers of attorney are necessary in the following
case:
xxx xxx xxx
(5) To enter any contract by which the ownership of an immovable is
transmitted or acquired either gratuitously or for a valuable
consideration;
xxx xxx xxx.
Petitioner further contends that Respondent Motorich has ratified said contract of
sale because of its "acceptance of benefits," as evidenced by the receipt issued
by Respondent Gruenberg. 19 Petitioner is clutching at straws.
As a general rule, the acts of corporate officers within the scope of their
authority are binding on the corporation. But when these officers exceed their
authority, their actions "cannot bind the corporation, unless it has ratified such
acts or is estopped from disclaiming them." 20
In this case, there is a clear absence of proof that Motorich ever authorized
Nenita Gruenberg, or made it appear to any third person that she had the
authority, to sell its land or to receive the earnest money. Neither was there any
proof that Motorich ratified, expressly or impliedly, the contract. Petitioner rests
its argument on the receipt which, however, does not prove the fact of
ratification. The document is a hand-written one, not a corporate receipt, and it
bears only Nenita Gruenberg's signature. Certainly, this document alone does
not prove that her acts were authorized or ratified by Motorich.
Art. 1318 of the Civil Code lists the requisites of a valid and perfected contract:
"(1) consent of the contracting parties; (2) object certain which is the subject
4

11th SET

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matter of the contract; (3) cause of the obligation which is established." As found
by the trial court 21 and affirmed by the Court of Appeals, 22 there is no evidence
that Gruenberg was authorized to enter into the contract of sale, or that the said
contract was ratified by Motorich. This factual finding of the two courts is binding
on this Court. 23 As the consent of the seller was not obtained, no contract to
bind the obligor was perfected. Therefore, there can be no valid contract of sale
between petitioner and Motorich.
Because Motorich had never given a written authorization to Respondent
Gruenberg to sell its parcel of land, we hold that the February 14, 1989
Agreement entered into by the latter with petitioner is void under Article 1874 of
the Civil Code. Being inexistent and void from the beginning, said contract
cannot be ratified. 24
Second Issue:
Piercing the Corporate Veil Not Justified
Petitioner also argues that the veil of corporate fiction of Motorich should be
pierced, because the latter is a close corporation. Since "Spouses Reynaldo L.
Gruenberg and Nenita R. Gruenberg owned all or almost all or 99.866% to be
accurate, of the subscribed capital stock" 25 of Motorich, petitioner argues that
Gruenberg needed no authorization from the board to enter into the subject
contract. 26 It adds that, being solely owned by the Spouses Gruenberg, the
company can treated as a close corporation which can be bound by the acts of
its principal stockholder who needs no specific authority. The Court is not
persuaded.
First, petitioner itself concedes having raised the issue belatedly, 27 not having
done so during the trial, but only when it filed its sur-rejoinder before the Court
of Appeals. 28 Thus, this Court cannot entertain said issue at this late stage of the
proceedings. It is well-settled the points of law, theories and arguments not
brought to the attention of the trial court need not be, and ordinarily will not be,
considered by a reviewing court, as they cannot be raised for the first time on
appeal. 29Allowing petitioner to change horses in midstream, as it were, is to run
roughshod over the basic principles of fair play, justice and due process.
Second, even if the above mentioned argument were to be addressed at this
time, the Court still finds no reason to uphold it. True, one of the advantages of a
corporate form of business organization is the limitation of an investor's liability
to the amount of the investment. 30 This feature flows from the legal theory that
a corporate entity is separate and distinct from its stockholders. However, the
statutorily granted privilege of a corporate veil may be used only for legitimate
purposes. 31 On equitable considerations, the veil can be disregarded when it is
utilized as a shield to commit fraud, illegality or inequity; defeat public
convenience; confuse legitimate issues; or serve as a mere alter ego or business
conduit of a person or an instrumentality, agency or adjunct of another
corporation. 32
Thus, the Court has consistently ruled that "[w]hen the fiction is used as a
means of perpetrating a fraud or an illegal act or as vehicle for the evasion of an

existing obligation, the circumvention of statutes, the achievement or perfection

of a monopoly or generally the perpetration of knavery or crime, the veil with
which the law covers and isolates the corporation from the members or
stockholders who compose it will be lifted to allow for its consideration merely as
an aggregation of individuals."33
We stress that the corporate fiction should be set aside when it becomes a shield
against liability for fraud, illegality or inequity committed on third persons. The
question of piercing the veil of corporate fiction is essentially, then, a matter of
proof. In the present case, however, the Court finds no reason to pierce the
corporate veil of Respondent Motorich. Petitioner utterly failed to establish that
said corporation was formed, or that it is operated, for the purpose of shielding
any alleged fraudulent or illegal activities of its officers or stockholders; or that
the said veil was used to conceal fraud, illegality or inequity at the expense of
third persons like petitioner.
Petitioner claims that Motorich is a close corporation. We rule that it is not.
Section 96 of the Corporation Code defines a close corporation as follows:
Sec. 96. Definition and Applicability of Title. A close corporation,
within the meaning of this Code, is one whose articles of incorporation
provide that: (1) All of the corporation's issued stock of all classes,
exclusive of treasury shares, shall be held of record by not more than a
specified number of persons, not exceeding twenty (20); (2) All of the
issued stock of all classes shall be subject to one or more specified
restrictions on transfer permitted by this Title; and (3) The corporation
shall not list in any stock exchange or make any public offering of any of
its stock of any class. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a corporation shall
be deemed not a close corporation when at least two-thirds (2/3) of its
voting stock or voting rights is owned or controlled by another
corporation which is not a close corporation within the meaning of this
Code. . . . .
The articles of incorporation 34 of Motorich Sales Corporation does not contain
any provision stating that (1) the number of stockholders shall not exceed 20, or
(2) a preemption of shares is restricted in favor of any stockholder or of the
corporation, or (3) listing its stocks in any stock exchange or making a public
offering of such stocks is prohibited. From its articles, it is clear that Respondent
Motorich is not a close corporation. 35 Motorich does not become one either, just
because Spouses Reynaldo and Nenita Gruenberg owned 99.866% of its
subscribed capital stock. The "[m]ere ownership by a single stockholder or by
another corporation of all or capital stock of a corporation is not of itself
sufficient ground for disregarding the separate corporate personalities." 36 So,
too, a narrow distribution of ownership does not, by itself, make a close
corporation.
Petitioner cites Manuel R. Dulay Enterprises, Inc. v. Court of Appeals 37 wherein
the Court ruled that ". . . petitioner corporation is classified as a close
corporation and, consequently, a board resolution authorizing the sale or
mortgage of the subject property is not necessary to bind the corporation for the
action of its president." 38 But the factual milieu in Dulay is not on all fours with
5

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the present case. In Dulay, the sale of real property was contracted by the
president of a close corporation with the knowledge and acquiescence of its
board of directors. 39 In the present case, Motorich is not a close corporation, as
previously discussed, and the agreement was entered into by the corporate
treasurer without the knowledge of the board of directors.
The Court is not unaware that there are exceptional cases where "an action by a
director, who singly is the controlling stockholder, may be considered as a
binding corporate act and a board action as nothing more than a mere
formality." 40 The present case, however, is not one of them.

of her whole testimony. During her cross-examination. Respondent Gruenberg

testified:
Q So, you signed in your capacity as the treasurer?
[A] Yes, sir.
Q Even then you kn[e]w all along that you [were] not authorized?
A Yes, sir.

As stated by petitioner, Spouses Reynaldo and Nenita Gruenberg own "almost

99.866%" of Respondent Motorich.41 Since Nenita is not the sole controlling
stockholder of Motorich, the aforementioned exception does not apply.
Grantingarguendo that the corporate veil of Motorich is to be disregarded, the
subject parcel of land would then be treated as conjugal property of Spouses
Gruenberg, because the same was acquired during their marriage. There being
no indication that said spouses, who appear to have been married before the
effectivity of the Family Code, have agreed to a different property regime, their
property relations would be governed by conjugal partnership of gains. 42 As a
consequence, Nenita Gruenberg could not have effected a sale of the subject lot
because "[t]here is no co-ownership between the spouses in the properties of
the conjugal partnership of gains. Hence, neither spouse can alienate in favor of
another his or interest in the partnership or in any property belonging to it;
neither spouse can ask for a partition of the properties before the partnership
has been legally dissolved." 43
Assuming further, for the sake of argument, that the spouses' property regime is
the absolute community of property, the sale would still be invalid. Under this
regime, "alienation of community property must have the written consent of the
other spouse or he authority of the court without which the disposition or
encumbrance is void." 44 Both requirements are manifestly absent in the instant
case.
Third Issue: Challenged Portion of TSN Immaterial
Petitioner calls our attention to the following excerpt of the transcript of
stenographic notes (TSN):
Q Did you ever represent to Mr. Co that you were authorized by the
corporation to sell the property?
A Yes, sir.

Q You stated on direct examination that you did not represent that you
were authorized to sell the property?
A Yes, sir.
Q But you also did not say that you were not authorized to sell the
property, you did not tell that to Mr. Co, is that correct?
A That was not asked of me.
Q Yes, just answer it.
A I just told them that I was the treasurer of the corporation and it [was]
also the president who [was] also authorized to sign on behalf of the
corporation.
Q You did not say that you were not authorized nor did you say that you
were authorized?
A Mr. Co was very interested to purchase the property and he offered to
put up a P100,000.00 earnest money at that time. That was our first
meeting. 47
Clearly then, Nenita Gruenberg did not testify that Motorich had authorized her
to sell its property. On the other hand, her testimony demonstrates that the
president of Petitioner Corporation, in his great desire to buy the property, threw
caution to the wind by offering and paying the earnest money without first
verifying Gruenberg's authority to sell the lot.

45

Fourth Issue: Damages and Attorney's Fees

Petitioner claims that the answer "Yes" was crossed out, and, in its place was
written a "No" with an initial scribbled above it. 46 This, however, is insufficient to
prove that Nenita Gruenberg was authorized to represent Respondent Motorich
in the sale of its immovable property. Said excerpt be understood in the context

Finally, petitioner prays for damages and attorney's fees, alleging that "[i]n an
utter display of malice and bad faith, respondents attempted and succeeded in
impressing on the trial court and [the] Court of Appeals that Gruenberg did not
represent herself as authorized by Respondent Motorich despite the receipt
6

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issued by the former specifically indicating that she was signing on behalf of
Motorich Sales Corporation. Respondent Motorich likewise acted in bad faith
when it claimed it did not authorize Respondent Gruenberg and that the contract
[was] not binding, [insofar] as it [was] concerned, despite receipt and enjoyment
of the proceeds of Gruenberg's act." 48 Assuming that Respondent Motorich was
not a party to the alleged fraud, petitioner maintains that Respondent Gruenberg
should be held liable because she "acted fraudulently and in bad faith [in]
representing herself as duly authorized by [R]espondent [C]orporation." 49

that "[p]ayment by reason of a mistake in the contruction or application of a

difficult question of law may come within the scope of the preceding article."
WHEREFORE, the petition is hereby DENIED and the assailed Decision is
AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED.

As already stated, we sustain the findings of both the trial and the appellate
courts that the foregoing allegations lack factual bases. Hence, an award of
damages or attorney's fees cannot be justified. The amount paid as "earnest
money" was not proven to have redounded to the benefit of Respondent
Motorich. Petitioner claims that said amount was deposited to the account of
Respondent Motorich, because "it was deposited with the account of Aren
Commercial c/o Motorich Sales Corporation." 50 Respondent Gruenberg, however,
disputes the allegations of petitioner. She testified as follows:
Q You voluntarily accepted the P100,000.00, as a matter of fact, that
was encashed, the check was encashed.
A Yes. sir, the check was paid in my name and I deposit[ed] it.
Q In your account?
A Yes, sir.

51

In any event, Gruenberg offered to return the amount to petitioner ". . . since the
sale did not push through." 52
Moreover, we note that Andres Co is not a neophyte in the world of corporate
business. He has been the president of Petitioner Corporation for more than ten
years and has also served as chief executive of two other corporate
entities. 53 Co cannot feign ignorance of the scope of the authority of a corporate
treasurer such as Gruenberg. Neither can he be oblivious to his duty to ascertain
the scope of Gruenberg's authorization to enter into a contract to sell a parcel of
land belonging to Motorich.
Indeed, petitioner's claim of fraud and bad faith is unsubstantiated and fails to
persuade the Court. Indubitably, petitioner appears to be the victim of its own
officer's negligence in entering into a contract with and paying an unauthorized
officer of another corporation.
As correctly ruled by the Court of Appeals, however, Nenita Gruenberg should be
ordered to return to petitioner the amount she received as earnest money, as
"no one shall enrich himself at the expense of another." 54 a principle embodied
in Article 2154 of Civil Code. 55 Although there was no binding relation between
them, petitioner paid Gruenberg on the mistaken belief that she had the
authority to sell the property of Motorich. 56 Article 2155 of Civil Code provides
7

11th SET

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and attorney's fees in the sum of P6,000.00, for all the three (3) cases.
Co-defendant Nepomuceno Redovan is ordered to pay the current and
subsequent rentals on the premises leased by him to plaintiffs.
The counterclaim of defendants Virgilio E. Dulay and Manuel R. Dulay
Enterprises, Inc. and N. Redovan, dismissed for lack of merit. With costs
against the three (3) aforenamed defendants. 3

G.R. No. 91889 August 27, 1993

MANUEL R. DULAY ENTERPRISES, INC., VIRGILIO E. DULAY AND
NEPOMUCENO
REDOVAN, petitioners,
vs.
THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS, EDGARDO D. PABALAN, MANUEL
A. TORRES, JR., MARIA THERESA V. VELOSO AND CASTRENSE C.
VELOSO, respondents.
NOCON, J.:
This is a petition for review on certiorari to annul and set aside the decision 1 of
the Court of Appeals affirming the decision 2 of the Regional Trial Court of Pasay,
Branch 114 Civil Cases Nos. 8198-P, and 2880-P, the dispositive portion of which
reads, as follows:
Wherefore, in view of all the foregoing considerations, in this Court
hereby renders judgment, as follows:
In Civil Case No. 2880-P, the petition filed by Manuel R. Dulay
Enterprises, Inc. and Virgilio E. Dulay for annulment or declaration of
nullity of the decision of the Metropolitan Trial Court, Branch 46, Pasay
City, in its Civil Case No. 38-81 entitled "Edgardo D. Pabalan, et al., vs.
Spouses Florentino Manalastas, et al.," is dismissed for lack of merits;
In Civil Case No. 8278-P, the complaint filed by Manuel R. Dulay
Enterprises, Inc. for cancellation of title of Manuel A. Torres, Jr. (TCT No.
24799 of the Register of Deeds of Pasay City) and reconveyance, is
dismissed for lack or merit, and,
In Civil Case No. 8198-P, defendants Manuel R. Dulay Enterprises, Inc.
and Virgilio E. Dulay are ordered to surrender and deliver possession of
the parcel of land, together with all the improvements thereon,
described in Transfer Certificate of Title No. 24799 of the Register of
Deeds of Pasay City, in favor of therein plaintiffs Manuel A. Torres, Jr. as
owner and Edgardo D. Pabalan as real estate administrator of said
Manuel A. Torres, Jr.; to account for and return to said plaintiffs the
rentals from dwelling unit No. 8-A of the apartment building (Dulay
Apartment) from June 1980 up to the present, to indemnify plaintiffs,
jointly and severally, expenses of litigation in the amount of P4,000.00

The facts as found by the trial court are as follows:

Petitioner Manuel R. Dulay Enterprises, Inc, a domestic corporation with the
following as members of its Board of Directors: Manuel R. Dulay with 19,960
shares and designated as president, treasurer and general manager, Atty. Virgilio
E. Dulay with 10 shares and designated as vice-president; Linda E. Dulay with 10
shares; Celia Dulay-Mendoza with 10 shares; and Atty. Plaridel C. Jose with 10
shares and designated as secretary, owned a property covered by TCT No.
17880 4 and known as Dulay Apartment consisting of sixteen (16) apartment
units on a six hundred eighty-nine (689) square meters lot, more or less, located
at Seventh Street (now Buendia Extension) and F.B. Harrison Street, Pasay City.
Petitioner corporation through its president, Manuel Dulay, obtained various
loans for the construction of its hotel project, Dulay Continental Hotel (now
Frederick Hotel). It even had to borrow money from petitioner Virgilio Dulay to be
able to continue the hotel project. As a result of said loan, petitioner Virgilio
Dulay occupied one of the unit apartments of the subject property since property
since 1973 while at the same time managing the Dulay Apartment at his
shareholdings in the corporation was subsequently increased by his father. 5
On December 23, 1976, Manuel Dulay by virtue of Board Resolution
No 18 6 of petitioner corporation sold the subject property to private respondents
spouses Maria Theresa and Castrense Veloso in the amount of P300,000.00 as
evidenced by the Deed of Absolute Sale. 7 Thereafter, TCT No. 17880 was
cancelled and TCT No. 23225 was issued to private respondent Maria Theresa
Veloso. 8 Subsequently, Manuel Dulay and private respondents spouses Veloso
executed a Memorandum to the Deed of Absolute Sale of December 23,
1976 9 dated December 9, 1977 giving Manuel Dulay within (2) years or until
December 9, 1979 to repurchase the subject property for P200,000.00 which
was, however, not annotated either in TCT No. 17880 or TCT No. 23225.
On December 24, 1976, private respondent Maria Veloso, without the knowledge
of Manuel Dulay, mortgaged the subject property to private respondent Manuel
A. Torres for a loan of P250,000.00 which was duly annotated as Entry No. 68139
in TCT No. 23225. 10
Upon the failure of private respondent Maria Veloso to pay private respondent
Torres, the subject property was sold on April 5, 1978 to private respondent
Torres as the highest bidder in an extrajudicial foreclosure sale as evidenced by
the Certificate of Sheriff's Sale 11 issued on April 20, 1978.

11th SET

Corpo
On July 20, 1978, private respondent Maria Veloso executed a Deed of Absolute
Assignment of the Right to Redeem 12 in favor of Manuel Dulay assigning her
right to repurchase the subject property from private respondent Torres as a
result of the extra sale held on April 25, 1978.

Thereafter or on May 17, 1985, petitioner corporation and Virgilio Dulay filed an
action against the presiding judge of the Metropolitan Trial Court of Pasay City,
private respondents Pabalan and Torres for the annulment of said decision with
the Regional Trial Court of Pasay in Civil Case No. 2880-P.

As neither private respondent Maria Veloso nor her assignee Manuel Dulay was
able to redeem the subject property within the one year statutory period for
redemption, private respondent Torres filed an Affidavit of Consolidation of
Ownership 13 with the Registry of Deeds of Pasay City and TCT No. 24799 14 was
subsequently issued to private respondent Manuel Torres on April 23, 1979.

Thereafter, the three (3) cases were jointly tried and the trial court rendered a
decision in favor of private respondents.

On October 1, 1979, private respondent Torres filed a petition for the issuance of
a writ of possession against private respondents spouses Veloso and Manuel
Dulay in LRC Case No. 1742-P. However, when petitioner Virgilio Dulay was never
authorized by the petitioner corporation to sell or mortgage the subject property,
the trial court ordered private respondent Torres to implead petitioner
corporation as an indispensable party but the latter moved for the dismissal of
his petition which was granted in an Order dated April 8, 1980.
On June 20, 1980, private respondent Torres and Edgardo Pabalan, real estate
administrator of Torres, filed an action against petitioner corporation, Virgilio
Dulay and Nepomuceno Redovan, a tenant of Dulay Apartment Unit No. 8-A for
the recovery of possession, sum of money and damages with preliminary
injunction in Civil Case, No. 8198-P with the then Court of First Instance of Rizal.
On July 21, 1980, petitioner corporation filed an action against private
respondents spouses Veloso and Torres for the cancellation of the Certificate of
Sheriff's Sale and TCT No. 24799 in Civil Case No. 8278-P with the then Court of
First Instance of Rizal.
On January 29, 1981, private respondents Pabalan and Torres filed an action
against spouses Florentino and Elvira Manalastas, a tenant of Dulay Apartment
Unit No. 7-B, with petitioner corporation as intervenor for ejectment in Civil Case
No. 38-81 with the Metropolitan Trial Court of Pasay City which rendered a
decision on April 25, 1985, dispositive portion of which reads, as follows:

Not satisfied with said decision, petitioners appealed to the Court of Appeals
which rendered a decision on October 23, 1989, the dispositive portion of which
reads, as follows:
PREMISES CONSIDERED, the decision being appealed should be as it is
hereby AFFIRMED in full. 16
On November 8, 1989, petitioners filed a Motion for Reconsideration which was
denied on January 26, 1990.
Hence, this petition.
During the pendency of this petition, private respondent Torres died on April 3,
1991 as shown in his death certificate 17 and named Torres-Pabalan Realty &
Development Corporation as his heir in his holographic will 18 dated October 31,
1986.
Petitioners contend that the respondent court had acted with grave abuse of
discretion when it applied the doctrine of piercing the veil of corporate entity in
the instant case considering that the sale of the subject property between
private respondents spouses Veloso and Manuel Dulay has no binding effect on
petitioner corporation as Board Resolution No. 18 which authorized the sale of
the subject property was resolved without the approval of all the members of the
board of directors and said Board Resolution was prepared by a person not
designated by the corporation to be its secretary.
We do not agree.

Wherefore, judgment is hereby rendered in favor of the plaintiff (herein

private respondents) and against the defendants:
1.

Ordering the defendants and all persons claiming possession under

them to vacate the premises.

2.

Ordering the defendants to pay the rents in the sum of P500.000 a

month from May, 1979 until they shall have vacated the premises
with interest at the legal rate;

3.

Section 101 of the Corporation Code of the Philippines provides:

Sec. 101. When board meeting is unnecessary or improperly held.
Unless the by-laws provide otherwise, any action by the directors of a
close corporation without a meeting shall nevertheless be deemed valid
if:
1. Before or after such action is taken, written consent thereto is signed
by all the directors, or

Ordering the defendants to pay attorney's fees in the sum of

P2,000.00 and P1,000.00 as other expenses of litigation and for
them to pay the costs of the suit. 15
9

11th SET

Corpo
2. All the stockholders have actual or implied knowledge of the action
and make no prompt objection thereto in writing; or
3. The directors are accustomed to take informal action with the
express or implied acquiese of all the stockholders, or
4. All the directors have express or implied knowledge of the action in
question and none of them makes prompt objection thereto in writing.
If a directors' meeting is held without call or notice, an action taken
therein within the corporate powers is deemed ratified by a director
who failed to attend, unless he promptly files his written objection with
the secretary of the corporation after having knowledge thereof.
In the instant case, petitioner corporation is classified as a close corporation and
consequently a board resolution authorizing the sale or mortgage of the subject
property is not necessary to bind the corporation for the action of its president.
At any rate, corporate action taken at a board meeting without proper call or
notice in a close corporation is deemed ratified by the absent director unless the
latter promptly files his written objection with the secretary of the corporation
after having knowledge of the meeting which, in his case, petitioner Virgilio
Dulay failed to do.
It is relevant to note that although a corporation is an entity which has a
personality distinct and separate from its individual stockholders or
members, 19 the veil of corporate fiction may be pierced when it is used to
defeat public convenience justify wrong, protect fraud or defend crime. 20 The
privilege of being treated as an entity distinct and separate from its stockholder
or members is therefore confined to its legitimate uses and is subject to certain
limitations to prevent the commission of fraud or other illegal or unfair act. When
the corporation is used merely as an alter ego or business conduit of a person,
the law will regard the corporation as the act of that person. 21 The Supreme
Court had repeatedly disregarded the separate personality of the corporation
where the corporate entity was used to annul a valid contract executed by one of
its members.
Petitioners' claim that the sale of the subject property by its president, Manuel
Dulay, to private respondents spouses Veloso is null and void as the alleged
Board Resolution No. 18 was passed without the knowledge and consent of the
other members of the board of directors cannot be sustained. As correctly
pointed out by the respondent Court of Appeals:
Appellant Virgilio E. Dulay's protestations of complete innocence to the
effect that he never participated nor was even aware of any meeting or
resolution authorizing the mortgage or sale of the subject premises (see
par. 8, affidavit of Virgilio E. Dulay, dated May 31, 1984, p. 14, Exh.
"21") is difficult to believe. On the contrary, he is very much privy to the
transactions involved. To begin with, he is a incorporator and one of the
board of directors designated at the time of the organization of Manuel
R. Dulay Enterprise, Inc. In ordinary parlance, the said entity is loosely

referred to as a "family corporation". The nomenclature, if imprecise,

however, fairly reflects the cohesiveness of a group and the parochial
instincts of the individual members of such an aggrupation of which
Manuel R. Dulay Enterprises, Inc. is typical: four-fifths of its
incorporators being close relatives namely, three (3) children and their
father whose name identifies their corporation (Articles of Incorporation
of Manuel R. Dulay Enterprises, Inc. Exh. "31-A"). 22
Besides, the fact that petitioner Virgilio Dulay on June 24, 1975 executed an
affidavit 23 that he was a signatory witness to the execution of the post-dated
Deed of Absolute Sale of the subject property in favor of private respondent
Torres indicates that he was aware of the transaction executed between his
father and private respondents and had, therefore, adequate knowledge about
the sale of the subject property to private respondents.
Consequently, petitioner corporation is liable for the act of Manuel Dulay and the
sale of the subject property to private respondents by Manuel Dulay is valid and
binding. As stated by the trial court:
. . . the sale between Manuel R. Dulay Enterprises, Inc. and the spouses
Maria Theresa V. Veloso and Castrense C. Veloso, was a corporate act of
the former and not a personal transaction of Manuel R. Dulay. This is so
because Manuel R. Dulay was not only president and treasurer but also
the general manager of the corporation. The corporation was a closed
family corporation and the only non-relative in the board of directors
was Atty. Plaridel C. Jose who appeared on paper as the secretary. There
is no denying the fact, however, that Maria Socorro R. Dulay at times
acted as secretary. . . ., the Court can not lose sight of the fact that the
Manuel R. Dulay Enterprises, Inc. is a closed family corporation where
the incorporators and directors belong to one single family. It cannot be
concealed that Manuel R. Dulay as president, treasurer and general
manager almost had absolute control over the business and affairs of
the corporation. 24
Moreover, the appellate courts will not disturb the findings of the trial judge
unless he has plainly overlooked certain facts of substance and value that, if
considered, might affect the result of the case, 25 which is not present in the
instant case.
Petitioners' contention that private respondent Torres never acquired ownership
over the subject property since the latter was never in actual possession of the
subject property nor was the property ever delivered to him is also without merit.
Paragraph 1, Article 1498 of the New Civil Code provides:
When the sale is made through a public instrument, the execution
thereof shall be equivalent to the delivery of the thing which is the
object of the contract, if from the deed the contrary do not appear or
cannot clearly be inferred.
10

11th SET

Corpo
Under the aforementioned article, the mere execution of the deed of sale in a
public document is equivalent to the delivery of the property. Likewise, this Court
had held that:
It is settled that the buyer in a foreclosure sale becomes the absolute
owner of the property purchased if it is not redeemed during the period
of one year after the registration of the sale. As such, he is entitled to
the possession of the said property and can demand it at any time
following the consolidation of ownership in his name and the issuance
to him of a new transfer certificate of title. The buyer can in fact
demand possession of the land even during the redemption period
except that he has to post a bond in accordance with Section 7 of Act
No. 3133 as amended. No such bond is required after the redemption
period if the property is not redeemed. Possession of the land then
becomes an absolute right of the purchaser as confirmed owner. 26

Finally, we hold that the respondent appellate court did not err in denying
petitioner's motion for reconsideration despite the fact that private respondents
failed to submit their comment to said motion as required by the respondent
appellate court from resolving petitioners' motion for reconsideration without the
comment of the private respondent which was required merely to aid the court in
the disposition of the motion. The courts are as much interested as the parties in
the early disposition of cases before them. To require otherwise would
unnecessarily clog the courts' dockets.
WHEREFORE, the petition is DENIED and the decision appealed from is hereby
AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED.

Therefore, prior physical delivery or possession is not legally required since the
execution of the Deed of Sale in deemed equivalent to delivery.

11